


The Flame's Shadow

by SuperNerd92



Category: Naruto
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canonical Character Death, Friendship, Gen, I think some of the endgame ships are lame too but we are working with what we got, Missing Scene, Shikamaru does not like him, just FYI, mildly Sasuke critical
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:08:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27877346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperNerd92/pseuds/SuperNerd92
Summary: They’re just six years old when Naruto Uzumaki jumps up in front of the class, glares at all of them in turn, and passionately proclaims that he’s going to be the Hokage one day.The entire class just laughs at him. Shikamaru doesn't join in. He's confused. Why does Naruto act like that? Like someone so desperate to be noticed that he’ll take anything - even anger, contempt, annoyance at best? It’s a puzzle with a missing piece - a problem that he needs to solve before he can sleep through another class.That puzzle ends up taking a lot longer to solve than he anticipated.
Relationships: Nara Shikaku & Nara Shikamaru, Nara Shikamaru & Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 20
Kudos: 142





	1. Six

**Author's Note:**

> CW: casual misogyny throughout the early chapters (because Shikamaru is the POV character and is a little shit for a while).

They’re just six years old when Naruto Uzumaki jumps up in front of the class, glares at all of them in turn, and passionately proclaims that he’s going to be the Hokage one day. 

The entire class just laughs at him, drowning out anything else he’d add, hell, even the teacher trying to restore order to the classroom. It’s just so ridiculous. Naruto is easily the dumbest kid in the class, and struggles to perform the most basic techniques. He doesn’t even dress like a ninja, but like some kind of comedy act, with that attention-seeking orange jacket. 

Shikamaru doesn’t laugh. He pretends to be asleep, like usual - so nobody notices and calls him out on it. He could handle being bullied for not joining in - but why bother inviting that kind of trouble when he doesn’t have to? He’s nothing _like_ Naruto, who seems to bask in having the entire class’ ire and contempt.

Why does he act like that? Like someone so desperate to be noticed that he’ll take anything - even anger, contempt, annoyance at best? It’s a puzzle with a missing piece - a problem that he needs to solve before he can sleep through another class. 

They’re just six years old, but Shikamaru already knows he isn’t like the other kids. His parents don’t whisper as quietly as they think they do, and it was easy to look up _genius_ and those other words. An afternoon in the library - dictionaries and the public records of the other so-called child prodigies, Kakashi the Copy Ninja, Itachi Uchiha - is enough for him. He has _no_ desire to graduate early and join ANBU before most kids his age make genin. 

His old man isn’t ‘a genius,’ but he’s damn smart. Shikaku wasn’t fooled for a second when his son started coming home with report cards that show him near the bottom of the class. He wasn’t fooled, but he just started giving Shikamaru a knowing smile, an exasperated shake of his head, a quick wink during one of Yoshino’s angry lectures. 

They never talk about their feelings or how much they love each other or anything girly like _that_. But Shikamaru knows what’s going on. His dad’s generation didn’t have a choice, rushing kids through the Academy to join the front lines. There’s no Great War happening now, no attack by a Tailed Beast, and Shikaku’s generation sacrificed everything to let their children have this normal, lazy life. 

So even though Shikamaru is near the bottom of the class - grades only slightly better than Nartuo’s own - he’s anything but stupid. And after the orphan’s confusing behavior in the classroom, he starts to notice things, now that he’s looking for them. The way even civilians seem to treat Naruto with hatred and contempt. Like he’s done something so dishonorable that he deserves to be publicly shamed - or is so dangerous that he should be _feared_. (The mothers grabbing their kids and pulling them to the other side of the street mostly seem to fill the latter category; the men glaring, hands twitching in their pockets, the former).

Okay, so the attention-seeking makes sense; the whole village clearly hates him. He’s used to it, he’s using it as fuel to climb to the highest possible rank, force people to acknowledge him as a person. But… and even Shikamaru’s genius intellect gets caught up here… Naruto is six years old. What the hell could he have done to deserve that treatment? 

“It’s an S-class secret. If I told you, I’d have to kill you,” is all Shikaku says when his son asks. His tone is light, in that ‘I’m-joking-but-seriously-stop-asking’ way that Shikamaru has come to expect when he’s wearing his ‘Jonin Commander’ hat over his ‘father’ one.

Fine - he’ll have to figure it out for himself. He hits the library again. The surname Uzumaki is a dead end. It belongs to a former allied clan, with its own village, that was wiped out some years ago - well, that’s why Naruto is an orphan, he supposes, but it doesn’t explain the way the village treats him like dirt.

He approaches it from another angle - Naruto is six, the same as him. What else happened six years ago? The Nine-Tails’ attack on the village. There’s no hiding that, even though the library censors everything that could possibly be helpful - who unleashed the beast, how it was defeated, how _exactly_ the Fourth Hokage died in battle with it. 

Shikamaru doesn’t like admitting defeat. But genius or not, he’s trying to play a strategy game with half the pieces missing. He doesn’t understand enough about ninjutsu or the village's history to connect the dots here - not _yet_.

What he _does_ do is invite Naruto the next time he and Choji and Kiba skip out on a class. Choji will agree with anything Shikamaru suggests - it’s already painfully obvious that there’s a sacred trust of friendship there, something Shikamaru must guard carefully and never abuse - and Kiba gives a single dismissive sniff, but doesn’t argue about it. He even starts warming up a little when Naruto shares the knowledge of an excellent hiding-place, somewhere the teachers will _never_ find them.

(They do get caught, eventually, because they’re _six_ and of course the chunin trusted enough to be Academy teachers are strong enough ninjas to track them down; but it’s a nice couple of hours, and Naruto doesn’t start breathing fire or steal their souls or anything _weird_. He’s just another kid, at least right now). 

Even if he had more information, Shikamaru wouldn’t invite all the pain and trouble of trying to publicly stand up for the other boy. He feels a little bad for Naruto, but he’s never going to stick his neck out like _that_. He’s not that self-sacrificing or even a particularly _good_ person. The idea of going up against the entire collective hatred of a village is, frankly, too much of a drag. 

He keeps inviting Naruto along when they cut class, though. That’s easy. And that way, Naruto and Kiba can wear each other out running in circles or wrestling or… whatever, while he and Choji relax and share a bag of chips and look up at the clouds. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have NEVER been "in the fandom" for Naruto, even though I used to love this show when it was airing on Cartoon Network like 15 years ago (makes me feel old!)... so hopefully you can forgive me using the English terms for almost everything. It's what that very first translation did and what I'm used to. 
> 
> I *have* been re-watching of late, and I'm identifying with Shikamaru even harder than ever now that I'm an adult. I thought it would be fun to chart the course of his and Naruto's friendship as they grow up and accept a boatload of responsibility for their village. 
> 
> There will be relationships later on but they'll just be the canon ones in the show. I marked it as Gen cause the friendship is the focus here.


	2. Seven-Eight-Nine

**Seven**

They’re seven years old when Shikamaru realizes he doesn’t just _pity_ Naruto - he actually likes the guy. 

He realizes this because the Uchiha clan is mysteriously wiped out. It happens in the middle of the school week, too. Sasuke splits off and walks home to his clan’s designated corner of the village, the same way he does every day, and then…

Well. Shikamaru doesn’t want to think about what _exactly_ the other boy walked in on. When the dust settles, there’s only two Uchiha left alive, and only one left in the village. Itachi has gone missing-nin, though nobody bothers to tell the Academy kids _why_. 

(Shikaku was bemused when he asked about Naruto. Tight-lipped, but seeing no harm in gently dissuading his son from the truth of a six-year-old secret, a wound that had scabbed over and begun to heal... Shikaku is _not_ amused when he asks about the massacre. Shikamaru is left with the distinct impression that even the famous Jonin Commander was completely caught off-guard by whatever happened). 

(And no wonder. The entire situation is baffling. Why would an enemy from outside the village, powerful and savvy enough to slip past all of its defenses, content themselves with the massacre of a single clan? Arguably the most powerful of the clans, with a very unique and strong visual jutsu, but _still._ This wasn’t an act of war, it was… hatred, revenge). 

(If it’s an internal matter… it still feels oddly _personal_. Itachi defecting at the same time paints him as the most likely culprit, especially since the killer left Sasuke alive. But what kind of man would be capable of slaughtering his entire clan, yet balk at finishing the job? Weren’t Itachi’s parents among the dead?) 

He doesn’t have enough information to put the whole story together. But still, the end result is: there are two orphans in their class now. All things being equal, Shikamaru should feel the same way about both of them, shouldn’t he? But that isn’t the case at all. 

Sasuke had always been a quiet, studious kid. Not the child prodigy his older brother was - a fact he was well aware of, presumably insecure about - but working hard to live up to his family and clan’s expectations. They definitely weren’t _friends_ or anything, but Shikamaru had no reason to think poorly of the guy. 

The Sasuke who rejoins their class, a week after the massacre, is a very different person. Cold. Lonely. He’d always been ambitious, but now it’s like his one defining trait. He doesn’t talk to any of them, and he trains relentlessly when the _normal_ kids are doing things like having lunch or playing around after school. 

(This is also when the girls in the class prove themselves to have horrible taste. Being a tragic victim suddenly makes Sasuke _mysterious_ and _attractive_. Shikamaru, who’s aware that his team assignment was determined before he was born, watches the faint bonds between himself and this generation’s Yamanaka start to falter - and does nothing to stop it, because he might be smart, but he’s a lazy asshole at his core. He does nothing, and watches Ino slip away). 

Sasuke presents a sharp contrast to Naruto. Naruto _also_ lost everything, but instead of shutting down, it’s made him open up more, with his painfully earnest declarations and wearing his heart on his sleeve. 

Granted, Naruto is too young to miss his mysterious parents - he didn’t get a few years with them and _then_ watch them die. It’s probably worse to have known and lost a family than to have never known your family at all… 

On the other hand, Naruto doesn’t get fangirls. The ones in their class treat him with the same contempt as the rest of the village, mirroring the behavior of their parents and their older siblings without even stopping to question why. _Idiots_. 

Naturally, Shikamaru is smart enough to eventually figure out the real reason that this new Sasuke bothers him so much. He imagines how _he’d_ react if this mysterious enemy had chosen to wipe out the Nara clan and leave _him_ the only survivor. He wouldn’t become like Naruto, no. He’d turn into the kind of cold, broken, calculating bastard who lived only for his revenge. 

Yeah. Looking at Sasuke is too much like looking into a mirror - a dark one, that shows what could have happened under other circumstances. And there’s nothing worse than looking into a mirror and hating what looks back out at you. 

Naruto might not be _smart_. And he’ll probably never be much of a ninja. But he’s a better _person_ than either Sasuke or Shikamaru could ever be. There’s something admirable about that. He’s a weird kid, but he’s an honest one - completely true to himself and what he is. 

Well, inviting Naruto to skip class with them because he likes hanging out with him, instead of just pitying him, doesn’t feel any different. Naruto definitely doesn’t notice - he’s so starved for _anyone_ putting up with him that he’ll accept scraps of pity, and probably wouldn’t know what to do with the idea of having a _friend_. 

Shikamaru doesn’t push it. It’s not in his nature.

  
  


**Eight**

“You’re spending a lot of time with Naruto,” Shikaku says.

Shikamaru frowns down at the game board, hand hovering over his next piece. He already knows he lost - and his father does, too. Shikaku has a viable counter-move for any strategy he tries to employ; he’s simply lost too many pieces. 

Why start trying to distract him now? 

“Yeah, I guess. He’s fun to play with,” he says with a shrug. “Why? Is that a problem?” 

His attempt to turn things back on his father is a little too obvious, despite how casually he acted. Shikaku just smirks and shakes his head. “Your friends are your own business. I trust your judgment.” 

“That’s not what most of the parents say.” Indeed, he’s seen some of the kids, mostly the civilians’ kids, getting yelled at for daring to spend time with Naruto.

Shikaku shrugs. “Ignorance breeds fear.” 

“Ignorance is inevitable when anything about him is an S-class secret.” 

“Maybe. Maybe not. The truth might make people hate him _more_. It wasn’t an easy decision.” His father still sounds faintly disapproving. He isn’t the type to take his work home and complain about it - the faint narrowing of his eyes is the closest Shikamaru has ever seen him come to criticizing the Hokage. 

Shikamaru just grunts and flips his king over. No point prolonging the inevitable. 

There’s a faintly disappointed look in Shikaku’s eyes now. He gets the distinct impression he failed some sort of test. _A ninja must keep fighting to protect their village, teammates, and mission, even when the situation appears hopeless?_ It’s the kind of thing Iruka would say in class.

Shikaku doesn’t say it. He doesn’t have to. He lets Shikamaru see the look and then keeps talking casually, like nothing happened:

“Playing with Naruto is fine. But don’t do it _instead_ of befriending Ino. You’re so close with Choji already; excluding the third member of your future team is going to create a dysfunctional dynamic.” 

Shikamaru groans. “But _dad_ , she’s so _annoying_.” 

Shikaku smirks again. “You think I was always _friends_ with Inoichi and Choza? Get over it.” 

“I _know_ you weren’t. The last time you three went out drinking, Choza said you were, quote, ‘an annoying, arrogant, know-it-all, little shit’ at our age.” 

“Huh. Don’t even remember that. Probably should ease up on the sake next time,” Shikaku mutters.

  
  


**Nine**

“Hey Shika,” Naruto says, a wild gleam in his eyes and a leer on his face. “You and Choji and Kiba all have clan jutsus, right?” 

“... Yeah?” He’s started training with the Shadow Bind technique, as is customary for Nara of his age. The annoying part is that between his classes and Shikaku’s busy schedule, they have to get up at the crack of dawn to practice it. 

He’s sleeping through class even more often now just to catch up on his missing sleep. He stifles a yawn now, but resists the urge to close his eyes, knowing Naruto will be sad if he doesn’t pay attention. 

“Well, I came up with my _own_ secret technique! Stand back, ‘cause I’m about to knock your socks off!” 

Once the smoke clears, Shikamaru wishes he’d just taken that nap, after all. He groans and buries his face in his hands. 

“Heh heh. It’s perfect!” Naruto cackles.

“Pervert,” Shikmaru mutters. He can’t deny it worked, though - mostly because it shocked the hell out of him. He doubts any respectable adult ninja will actually be affected, but no point saying so. He'll let the other kid have his fun. 

It might be funny if he tries to pull it in class, if nothing else. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a hell of a time trying to find out exactly *when* stuff happened. In the end I pulled 7 for the Uchiha massacre completely out of my butt. I seem to recall reading that particular age in other fanfiction at least.


	3. Ten & Eleven

**Ten**

  
  


_Which came first, the chicken or the egg?_

Heh - the old platitude also functions as a ramen order. Shikamaru smirks to himself as he makes it, enjoying his private joke; then he leans back against the counter and pretends to doze. His eyes, narrowed to near-slits, dart around the little restaurant in his search for clues to answer the question. 

The sun is setting, and he really ought to be home for dinner. Yoshino is going to _kill_ him if she knows he ruined it with ramen. But he wants to know.

Did Naruto always love ramen and get genuinely lucky when the owner of Ichiraku turned out to be one of the few people in the village who would tolerate his presence? Or did he develop the taste for ramen _because_ this was one of the only places in the village where he could go out and eat without the restaurant owner tossing him out on sight? 

He could ask the owner… but that would be a drag. And besides, puzzling it out was more fun. 

So: Ichiraku. First, its history. Over thirty years old and thriving. Small and specialized, but immensely popular within the village. That meant Teuchi could afford to be generous to a hated orphan. Even if he lost a little business from an especially angry ninja, it wouldn’t put him or his family in serious financial risk. 

Second: Teuchi himself. A civilian. That didn’t really matter - the civilians seemed to have picked up on whatever made the ninja hate Naruto so much. On the other hand, the civilians didn’t really know the details. Memories faded more easily when it was all some mysterious, secret, ninja thing. 

The other possibility was that Teuchi was simply an unusually kind and generous man. Shikamaru considered this briefly. It was true that some people were simply like that; Choji was one example. He admired it whenever he found it - because he didn’t find it very often. Even at his young age, he could tell that the dangerous world they lived in had a way of crushing it out of a person, even the civilians and _especially_ the ninja. 

His careful thought is interrupted by a hurricane. A blur of orange sprints up to the counter, loudly announces himself and rattles off an order - all before Naruto even notices he isn’t alone. Shikamaru briefly wonders how the other kid intends to survive ninja life when he’s so painfully unobservant.

“Hey,” he grunts, not really bothering to open his eyes. Teuchi set his food in front of him a while ago, but he’s too busy with his ‘nap’ to do anything about it. 

“Hey,” Naruto says, and his voice is small and quiet in a way that makes Shikamaru open his eyes and _really_ look at him. He’s never heard Naruto sound like that, but there he is: slumped over, with a miserable expression on his face.

“You gotta eat that before it gets cold,” he adds, jerking a thumb at the bowl in front of Shikamaru. “Don’t let it go to waste!” 

“Okay,” Shikamaru says. “Have a seat next to me; we’ll eat together.” 

Naruto swallows, looking over his shoulder, checking out the crowded street with a complete lack of subtlety. Shikamaru gets it immediately. The other kid wasn’t miserable when he thought he would be alone here; he _got_ miserable when he saw Shikamaru. He thinks that Shikamaru will leave rather than be seen in public with him.

He can’t fault Naruto for _that_ assumption. Skipping class and playing together makes them sort-of friends, but Shikamaru has never shown any inclination to make that status public. He’s had opportunities to openly challenge the Naruto-hating status quo, but he’s never made the effort. 

Of course Naruto would assume it’s because Shikamaru only tolerates him under certain conditions. The poor guy’s life is so miserable that he _has_ to assume. Hoping for more would only get him hurt.

Shikamaru sighs, long and languid. “Naruto. I mean it.”

Teuchi returns with Naruto’s order, which certainly doesn’t hurt. The other kid seems to debate with himself for a moment, but ramen wins out and he jumps into the seat next to Shikamaru. There’s certainly nothing wrong with his appetite; he basically inhales his bowl in the time it takes Shikamaru to swallow a few bites. 

“It’s just,” Naurto says, with a mouth full of noodles, “people might see ya.” 

“Who cares?” Shikamaru drawls. “They already talk. ‘Oh, the Jonin Commander must be so ashamed of his lazy son. He has no ambition. He’s wasting his talents by cutting class and napping all day.’” 

Naruto blinks at him, blue eyes wide and wondering: “People talk about _you_ , too?” 

It’s not a fair comparison. The village has its gossips, but the occasional dirty look Shikamaru gets from some hard-working civilian-born ninja, aware that a clan kid has opportunities they had to fight and claw for and is wasting them out of sheer laziness, is _nothing_ compared to the scale of the hatred for Naruto. 

But hey, if it’ll make the other kid feel better…

“Yeah, sometimes,” he says, shrugging like it doesn’t bother him at all. (Which happens to be true; if his _mother_ , the force of nature that she is, can’t get him to put effort in, a few glares in the street certainly won’t). 

Naruto snickers into the second bowl that Teuchi brings him. “And it doesn’t bother you? Hearing them say that stuff?” 

“Not at all. They don't know me. I know me.” 

“Huh,” Naruto says, mid-slurp. “That’s, like, profound or somethin’.”

“I guess,” Shikamaru says. Naruto wolfs down his second helping in seconds, and Shikamaru wonders: how much does the kid actually get to eat? It’s not like he has any parents to buy groceries and cook him dinner - things Shikamaru himself has always taken for granted. The village leadership hasn’t stopped the way people treat him, but they wouldn’t let Naruto fend for himself like that… 

Would they? 

“Here, I’m done,” he says, and pushes his still mostly-full bowl across the counter.

Naruto blinks at him. “Really? But you’ve barely touched it! I could eat three more, at least!” 

“My mom will _murder_ me if I can’t eat dinner ‘cause I already had ramen,” Shikamaru says, which is truthful enough.

It’s also the exact wrong thing to say. Some genius he is, talking about his happy home life in front of the orphan. He doesn’t miss the little flinch, the brief cloud over Naruto’s expression before the other kid pastes a fake grin instead.

“Okay! I’ll see you tomorrow, Shika!” 

He wants to stay and say something else that will fix the hurt; but he can’t think of anything, and instead he slinks away, hands stuffed down into his pockets. Because when push comes to shove, when something gets _hard_ or _uncomfortable_ , that’s what he’ll always do. 

  
  


**Eleven**

  
  


Shikamaru usually naps on a grassy hill-top, or a secluded corner of the Nara forest; but he’s well known for these naps, and he figures it isn’t _too_ unusual for him to have picked a rooftop instead. The fact that this particular rooftop is across the street from Naruto’s apartment building is just a coincidence. 

It didn’t take him long to figure it out once he put his mind to it. Naruto doesn’t make any secret of it, bragging about having his own place already, and about the money that the Third Hokage (who Naruto refers to, casually and disrespectfully, as _old man_ or _grandpa_ ) sends him each month. 

To most eleven-year olds, it _is_ an attractive proposition. No parents to nag him or make him go to bed on time. But Shikamaru sees the other side, as he pretends to sleep and instead peers through the window of the apartment. 

No parents to cook for him - the kitchen is bare save for a pot to boil water and make into instant ramen.

No parents to clean up after him - those empty paper cups are scattered all over the floor.

No parents to complain to the Hokage that an eleven year old _kid_ is living in perhaps the shittiest apartment block in the entire village. The buildings are among the oldest and most run-down in the village, and Naruto’s neighbors are all the poorest of civilians, or the kind of ninjas who lost a limb and can’t do missions anymore, and live miserably on their own state stipends. 

Shikamaru tries not to flinch when Shikaku appears right behind him with a dramatic puff of smoke. Flinching would be as good as admitting his old man got the jump on him.

“Relax, it’s just me,” Shikaku rumbles, lips twisted into a smug grin. As usual, he wasn’t fooled by Shikamaru’s act. What a pain. 

“Dad,” he says, propping himself up on both elbows. “What’s the occasion? You don’t usually leave work to join my naps.” 

“Not as often as I’d like,” his father admits with a sigh. There have been some afternoons - ones that Shikamaru will later look back on as some of the most idyllic and peaceful of his entire childhood - when the esteemed Jonin Commander _does_ risk the gentle censure of the Third (and more importantly, his own wife’s wrath) to find Shikamaru. 

On those afternoons, Shikaku doesn’t say dad stuff like _I love you_ or _I wish I could spend more time with you_ , but he does lie next to Shikamaru and sigh, utterly content. And Shikamaru is smart enough to understand what isn’t said. 

On _this_ afternoon, it’s the Jonin Commander looking at him, arms folded over his chest and one eyebrow raised. Waiting for Shikamaru to tell him why he’s here.

“You came because someone told you where I was. Which means Naruto’s apartment is a place of interest to the village leadership. Which _probably_ means ANBU guards. I didn’t see them, but they saw me, and weren’t fooled by the napping routine.” 

Shikaku nods. “Two during the day, four at night.” 

Shikamaru frowns. ANBU is the elite of the elite, and Naruto has the kind of six-man protection detail reserved for important figures like the Hokage? It doesn’t add up.... Or does it? 

“The same reason the village hates him… makes him valuable to us. Something that has to be protected at all costs.” 

“Hmm,” Shikaku says, though it’s an affirmative sort of grunt. A little sign that yeah, he’s on the right track here. 

Shikamaru is frustrated enough to drop the act and stand, pointing down at the shitty apartment with its dirty window. “If that’s the case, he should live in the Hokage Tower. Or with one of the clans as an honored guest. We’re letting an asset to this village eke out some miserable existence and what, hoping that his loneliness turns to ambition instead of hatred? We’re damn lucky that Naruto is _Naruto_ and not-” 

His good sense catches up to him and he shuts up, because he might not be able to _see_ the ANBU, but they’re certainly listening. 

Shikaku shrugs, like it’s some point of no concern to him. “It was proposed, once upon a time. But there’s downsides, too. Normal orphans don’t get to live in the Hokage Tower or get pseudo-adopted into a clan for no real reason. It would paint a target on his back, make other villages wonder why Naruto got such special treatment.” 

“Are we that afraid of other villages?” Shikamaru whispers, his voice hard.

Shikaku’s eyes narrow, and Shikamaru scores the point he wanted to score. The Jonin Commander was one of those who proposed better treatment for Naruto. He’s still angry about it, though it’s the quiet sort of anger, an old wound mostly forgotten about. 

“Enough questions. Don’t come here again,” his father says, his voice cold, forbidding - and loud enough that there’s no possible way the ANBU don’t hear him. 

Shikaku wouldn’t act that way for no reason. Shikamaru grumbles and whines (and eventually obeys, walking languidly towards the Academy to actually attend his class that day), he wonders why. 

It hits him like a lightning bolt. The last time his father was that closed-off and dismissive was when Shikamaru started asking him about the Uchiha massacre. 

Which means… Naruto’s status is another internal matter. There are some people in the village, very powerful people, who wanted him to live like this. Maybe no clan _dared_ to adopt him, because of the attention and political headache it would bring. Maybe the Third wanted to do more, but couldn’t, bowing the delicate political reality. 

What the hell _is_ Naruto? Why is everything about him such a weird secret? 

It’s been five years since Shikamaru started wondering - and he still has more questions than answers. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this sort of accidentally became a Shikamaru bonds with his dad fic at the same time, so I hope everyone is enjoying those sections as well.


	4. Genin

The graduation exam is easy enough, and Shikamaru passes it with little effort. Iruka gives him one final despairing look as he slouches back to his seat. Their teacher’s certainly sharp enough to spot the difference between a genuinely poor student and someone too lazy to try - but nothing he tried could ever get Shikamaru to put any effort in. 

Well, Shikamaru is about to be some jonin’s problem. He runs over various strategies for getting a brand new teacher to underestimate him (and consequently, not push him too hard) as he watches the other kids try to perform the clone technique. 

And speaking of poor students… yeah, Naruto was up there failing the exam. Again. As hard as he worked, he couldn’t seem to get a handle on producing clones. Shikamaru wonders idly if Naruto’s inability to become a ninja would affect whatever the village had planned for him… because it sure seemed like he won’t be making it this year. 

* * *

They’d all seen him fail the clone technique, yet Naruto is standing with them the next day, headband and everything. Supposedly Iruka took him out the previous night and he passed some alternative test with flying colors.

Shikamaru comments that he’s surprised, but he isn’t, not really. His little investigations make it clear that there’s a lot more to Naruto than meets the eye. Maybe he has some power that he couldn’t use in front of the class but could in private with their teacher?

Six of the kids wait with baited breath for the team combination, but Ino-Shika-Cho is predetermined. Could be better - Ino is going to be insufferable - but it also could be worse - at least he gets _one_ team member he likes. 

Their jonin, Asuma, is one of the newer teachers. Maybe that’s why they assigned him a ready-made formation. Asuma speaks casually about serving in the Feudal Lord’s court in some elite bodyguard corps - a high honor that nonetheless leaves him woefully unprepared for Ino’s tantrums, Shikamaru’s stubborn laziness, and Choji’s reluctance to lay a finger on his teammates, even in practice spars. 

It’s a wonder they make it through the first week, but eventually they figure out a stable dynamic: mostly, Asuma bribing them with food, the promise of a game of shogi, or whatever the hell motivates Ino these days. He's funny and kind, and has a way of getting them to actually give a damn with his combination of carrots and sticks.

“You got _him_ , huh?” Shikaku says when Shikamaru asks him, seeming amused.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“Ask him to use his clan name sometime. See how it goes.” 

It _didn’t_ go, though Asuma let enough slip for Shikamaru to piece the truth together later. Their sensei isn’t just some no-name ninja, but the son of the Third. Something happened between them, though, enough to drive Asuma away for many years. 

Shikamaru, as usual, doesn’t pry. 

* * *

He doesn’t see much of Naruto once they start taking real missions. Asuma seems surprised that Kakashi passed a team at all - apparently, he only agreed to start teaching a couple years ago, and he’s never actually passed team before now. 

Shikamaru hears vaguely about a simple mission gone wrong, three unprepared genin helping Kakashi take down a legendary missing-nin, but Naruto is - unusually - quiet about it all once he’s back in the village. That’s weird. Shikamaru would have guessed he’d be boasting about it, especially since the mission was a total success. 

He notices that Naruto seems a little more self-assured, more confident. Naruto _also_ doesn’t shut up about Sasuke and about how he’s going to get so much stronger, strong enough to pound the other genin’s face in during a fair fight.

Weird motivation... Shikamaru has an annoying teammate, but Ino doesn’t exactly inspire him to greater feats. Still, that rivalry with Sasuke is quickly becoming the closest “friendship” that Naruto has. The two are inseparable. So there must be _something_ to it. 

* * *

They’ve only been a team for a few months when Asuma puts them in for the chunin exams. Shikamaru doesn’t think they’re ready - and he has a feeling Asuma doesn’t, either. But the exams will take place in the Leaf Village this time, so there’s not as much danger; it forces them to give their best effort and make their clans look good in front of everyone they know; and even if they fail it’s a good learning experience. 

Seeing through the scheme doesn’t stop him from complaining about it non-stop, though. He’d really prefer to not have to put the effort in. Like during that written exam. He was actually capable of answering all the questions - but he just lets Ino cheat off Sakura and fill the sheet out for him. 

(That’s what the proctors want, anyway. Not to see them answer the questions, but to see how they covertly cheat as a team. Luckily, Ino’s clan’s technique allows them to cheat with the best of them). 

The forest is another story. They _should_ just sit on their asses and let Team Seven handle their own affairs, but… hell, they’re all Leaf Ninja, aren’t they? When Ino decides to save Sakura, he doesn’t complain. (Okay - he doesn’t complain _that_ much). 

It’s a good thing he meets one of those Sound Ninja during the first round of the tournament, too. The part of him that wants to throw his match and go home can’t overcome the other part, the dark and scary one that wants to make the Sound _pay_ for hurting his friends. He takes the girl down quickly, and Asuma seems pleasantly surprised. 

Then it’s Shikamaru’s turn to be surprised - by Naruto’s performance against Kiba. He’s both over and under-estimated the guy. Naruto hasn’t been holding back on them or saving a secret technique up his sleeve, and doesn’t look all that impressive for most of the fight. On the other hand - where he once struggled to make normal clones, he’s now creating more advanced shadow clones with relative ease. 

_Might have something to do with his chakra levels - and his poor control. Normal clones are threading the needle... Shadow clones are brute force._

Naruto is also smart enough to think of a Transformation technique, and it’s Kiba who falls for the obvious trap and fails to sniff out the truth. Surprising. But then again, Naruto’s always been a hard worker. He just needs to combine it with using his brain a little. Guidance from someone as clever as Kakashi must have paid off. 

* * *

Qualifying for the second round is annoying on its own, but the worst part is drawing that other Sound asshole in the first round. His odds of making it all the way through the bracket take a huge hit. Then again - Shikamaru knows winning the tournament isn’t the actual point, or they’d only promote one chunin per examination, and _that_ doesn’t make a bit of sense. 

So he doesn’t have to _win_ , just look good while eventually _losing_. Which is good, because if he ever gets anywhere _near_ Gaara of the Sand, he’s going to forfeit immediately. Discretion is the better part of valor, and he’d rather stay a genin forever than risk ending up like Lee. 

Speaking of the demon… he runs into Gaara while visiting Naruto in the hospital. Gaara, who seems intent on finishing what he’s started with Lee. Shikamaru’s absolutely terrified, even when he has Gaara in his shadow (because he sure as hell doesn’t have the _sand_ -). 

_“He can fight like a demon if he wants to, but I got the real thing inside of me!”_ What the hell did Naruto mean by something like that? 

Guy shows up before anything _really_ bad can happen. But his heart is still pounding. He’s completely off his game, and he’s too relieved at simply being alive to stop and properly analyze that whole weird conversation.

* * *

He’s impressed and a little confused when Naruto takes down Neji despite having all his chakra points sealed off. Between that and the conversation in the hospital, Shikamaru is starting to have his suspicions, but… 

But then he has his own fight with Temari - unexpected, it was supposed to be that Sound guy, forcing him to come up with new strategies on the fly - beating a long-range fighter like her was a lot tougher - and she was a _girl_ , so annoying - And then all _hell_ breaks loose, the Sand and Sound conducting a joint invasion that was obviously planned far in advance. He gets dragged into defending the village depsite his best efforts, reluctantly does his duty, and of course almost dies running interference for Naruto and Sakura - luckily, Asuma’s there to save him.

Later - when he hears that Naruto took on a transformed Gaara and _beat_ him - his suspicion becomes a certainty. It simply makes too much sense, now that Gaara's condition tells him it's a possibility. The Nine-Tails attack on the village. None of the adults ever talked about _how_ the Fourth killed it. Because he never killed it. He sealed it inside a baby from the Uzumaki clan, trusting that clan’s massive chakra reserves to hold the seal; entrusting that baby to the village’s tender care - 

_And look what we did, after. Treated him like garbage._

He could tell Naruto what he knows. But why bother? The other boy’s clearly realized what he has inside him - he called on its chakra to defeat Neji, even when pushed to his absolute limit. That "pervy sage" he was blabbering about in the hospital must have been some special teacher Kakashi found, one who could show Naruto how to use the fox's power. 

On the plus side - Shikamaru might be able to feel him less alone. On the other hand - it would bring down village elders and ANBU and who knows what else onto Shikamaru’s head. 

No. It was way too risky. He’s _not_ going to stick his neck out. But...

“Hey dad,” he says, after dinner one night once things have calmed down a little, “didn’t you say the Third died ‘cause he used some secret sealing technique?” 

“That’s what they’re saying,” Shikaku says carefully, looking at his son with half-lidded eyes. “Tried to pull Orochimaru’s soul right out of his body.” 

“I was just wondering,” Shikamaru says, not able to help himself from smirking a little, “If it was only used to take things _out_ , or if it could be used to seal things _in_.” 

“Don’t ask questions when you already know the answer,” his father sighs, not missing his inference at all - no surprise there. “It’s annoying.” 

“I didn’t _know_ , but I did _gues_ _s_. It explains - well, everything. I mean, shit, the _whiskers_ \- I feel like a real idiot now…” 

“Impressive guess. Kinda controversial. What are you gonna do with it?” Shikaku asks, playing idly with a fork. The pretense at relaxation doesn’t extend to his eyes, which are hard and a little cold.

“Keep the secret and not tell anyone. It’s my duty,” Shikamaru says. His father visibly relaxes, setting the fork down. 

“Besides, I mean… it’s too late. If it was going to be a problem, it would have already become a problem. I told you before. We got lucky that Naruto is so… Naruto. Coulda had a second Gaara...” 

“I’ll drink to that,” Shikaku murmurs, and does so.

They never speak about it again. Both Nara are like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of fanfic have had great fun with that hospital scene. I rewatched it last night to make sure and YEP Naruto literally says out loud "I have a demon inside me" lmao. (IDK if it was less obvious in the original Japanese or what).
> 
> Anyway I figure that Shikamaru is easily smart enough to put 2 and 2 together but also lazy and selfish enough to not like... do anything at all about it. So we can still be canon compliant despite him figuring it out.


	5. Chunin

When the dam bursts, and a traumatized child turns into a traitor to their village - it isn’t Naruto. It’s Sasuke. Shikamaru doesn’t get all the details, but it doesn’t take a genius to know that it’s related to the traitor Itachi putting him in the hospital the previous month.

Sasuke would do anything for power. Anything to finally secure his revenge. Then Itachi showed up and brutally showed him how far he still had to go. That darkness that Shikamaru recognized by looking into the mirror never went away, and the Sound - Orochimaru - must have offered Sasuke a place to express it. 

And now it’s Shikamaru’s problem. Because his first mission as a newly promoted chunin is to hunt down and capture their former classmate-turned-traitor. And his backup isn’t a team of elite jonin, but a handful of genin. Talk about throwing a guy into the deep end and seeing if he can manage to swim… 

His personal feelings toward Sasuke are complicated. They were in the same Academy class, but they were hardly friends - not even close. He tells the team that much. Saying you didn’t even like your rescue target isn’t exactly in the chunin handbook, but they’re his _friends_ , too. He’s gonna tell them the truth. 

For Naruto, it’s a lot simpler. Track down his best friend/rival, beat him up until he overcomes his deep-seated trauma and returns to the village. Hopefully it’s that simple.

(It isn’t that simple). 

No plan survives contact with the enemy, but Shikamaru’s carefully planned formation falls apart particularly quickly. After that it’s a frantic mess. As smart as he is, he can’t think of any alternative to sacrificing his pieces, one by one, to keep up the pursuit. 

And _sacrifice_ is the operative word, because it very nearly gets them all killed. The Sound hadn’t been messing around, sending a jonin-level squad to fetch Sasuke. Outsmarting his opponent does him no good at all with that damn cursed seal in play; she simply overpowers him, and would have killed him, if their new allies from the Sand hadn’t intervened. 

(Getting saved by a girl is so _annoying_. Especially since Temari shows up full of swagger and completely unphased by the strength of their opponent, laughing off his suggestion that they retreat. She backs it up, too - leveling a whole acre of the forest with a wind summon to take the Sound ninja down).

Later, he’ll realize that moment, that display of power, is what really ensnares him, as surely as if she’d used the Nara technique against him. He isn’t thinking about that kind of thing at the moment, though. He just wants to get back to the village and see the full extent of the damage.

It’s worse than he thought. His first mission ends with the entire team in the hospital - Choji and Neji in critical condition - and in total failure - Sasuke got away from Naruto and disappeared from their trackers. 

And here _he_ is, the one who gave the orders. His only damage is a broken finger and his wounded pride. 

Shikamaru almost quits on the spot. _Almost_. His father stops him. Shikaku points out that even if he _does_ resign, there will be other missions, others ordering his friends into danger. And if he quits, he can’t be there to help them. 

(He could’ve done without Temari sitting there and watching his breakdown. Embarrassing himself in front of a _girl_ , ugh. But she surprises him - she doesn’t mock or insult him when he’s seeing her and her brothers off at the village gates. Maybe she understands, has had her own breaking points. She’s older than he is, after all). 

Visiting Naruto’s room afterwards is painful. He’s seen Naruto sad and angry before, but never like this. Never so… _subdued_. It feels wrong, because Naruto is supposed to be the center of attention. The loudest and most annoying guy in the room. Even in failure, he should be a bright light, not this… dim bulb. 

Before Shikamaru can even figure out how to say that, Naruto is gone. Taken out of the village for more training by that Jariya guy - and, presumably, to protect the container of the Nine-Tails from Itachi’s creepy organization. 

They don’t see each other for another three years. 

* * *

Working as a chunin changes Shikamaru’s opinion on Asuma. He’s always _liked_ his sensei, but he’d been underestimating him at the same time. Asuma is a _great_ team leader, whether he’s training genin or leading missions. He has an easy, natural charisma, and he’s emotionally intelligent enough to instinctively know how to best motivate his subordinates. 

Asuma as the team lead and Shikamaru as the team tactician is a pretty damn effective combination, and Tsunade knows how to use them. All of the missions they take on go off without a hitch, and their “reward” is increasingly more dangerous and difficult work.

Some people would relish the challenge. Shikamaru is decidedly not one of those people. He wishes he was still doing genin-level missions with Ino and Choji. 

“All I wanted was an average life,” Shikamaru complains during their next game. “This is _your_ fault, sensei.”

“Oh yeah?” Asuma is only half-listening. It’s his turn, and he’s starting to run out of remaining moves on the shogi board. His face is screwed up in concentration, and he bites his tongue between his teeth. 

“Yeah, that _stupid_ tournament at the _stupid_ exams you forced us to take. The whole village saw me make chunin on my first try at twelve years old! It was the beginning of the end.” 

“Guess you should’ve thrown the match,” Asuma says. His expression is neutral, but Shikamaru hears the smirk in the tone of his voice.

He scoffs. “Maybe, if I was up against anyone else. I wasn’t gonna lose to a _girl_.”

“Really sounds like you only have yourself to blame,” his sensei hums. “Maybe if you’d been less sexist, you’d still be living your average life.” 

Shikamaru knows he’s right, that this is _entirely_ self-inflicted; so he ignores this point and keeps whining. “On top of my normal mission load, they’re roping me into serving as a proctor during the next chunin exams. It won’t be long before they force me into jonin.” 

“You could always run away,” Asuma suggests, only half-joking. “When they started making noises about how badly my old man could use an assistant and potential successor, well, I was _gone_. Didn't want that life, so I made my own.” 

“You’d put in a good word with the Feudal Lord?” 

“Without hesitation. The Guardian Ninja could use someone like you.” His sensei is teasing him, but there’s genuine pride in his voice when he says that. He legitimately thinks Shikamaru is that good.

It's a weird feeling, for someone who isn't his parents to believe in him like that. Able to cut through the bullshit front and see what he's really capable of. 

Shikamaru groans, moving his next piece without looking. He’d only left Asuma one move anyway, and next turn was checkmate. “Nah… packing up and moving to the capital is even more of a drag than being pushed into jonin.” 

“I guess it’s just too late for you,” his sensei laughs. Then he looks down at the board again, sees the jaws of the trap closing in, and swears under his breath. 

* * *

Since they’re pushing him down the jonin track, clearly wanting him as a strategist and planner, he starts getting access to a _lot_ more information and intelligence. Still nothing about Naruto, and still nothing about _who_ exactly was behind the Uchiha massacre, but he’s already figured out the former and starts to have some really firm ideas about the latter. 

It’s the size of Itachi’s file that tips him off. At the time of his defection, Itachi had already served on more high-profile missions than the average chunin did in their whole career, and yet all of those logs are missing. Not redacted, reserved for jonin-and-higher, but actually _gone_. Who’d taken those files - and why? 

If the massacre was entirely what it appears - Itachi simply snapping one day, butchering his clan and defecting - why bother to hide or destroy his mission records? What is there to conceal at this point? It makes no sense - unless some of the traitor’s missions have some connection to the reason for his murder spree. 

Was Itachi asked to do something so awful that it _caused_ him to snap? And his ANBU handler is scrambling to cover that up? Maybe… though something about that doesn’t feel quite right, either.

Shikamaru starts to understand what made his father so frustrated with the situation. There’s _something_ rotten, right at the very center of their own village, within the ANBU ranks that are supposed to protect them all. 

* * *

The Leaf and Sand agree to another joint chunin exam, two years after the first. Everyone's a little on edge considering what happened _last_ time, but Shikamaru figures it will all work out. Gaara’s changed a lot, since Naruto beat some sense into him - Naruto seems to have that effect on people.

(More cynically: Gaara has _far_ more to lose if anything goes wrong. The Sand needs the burgeoning alliance much more than the Leaf does, and the fourteen-year-old Kage needs to prove himself to the wider ninja world). 

He isn’t expecting to be paired with Temari to administer the first test. In their previous encounter, she’s been a hurricane - powerful, loud, and obvious. Not the personality you expect for the trickery of that false examination. 

But he’s been putting her in a box that she doesn’t really fit. She’s fully capable of being subtle when she wants to. And… friendly? At least, compared to her weird puppet-using brother and even weirder Kazekage brother. Gaara leans on her heavily for the diplomatic fluff that takes place in-between the stages of the official exam, and Shikamaru is surprised to see how adroitly she handles herself.

Honestly, she’s still too blunt for a quote-unquote “real” diplomat, but it comes off as honest and earnest. She charms the Leaf jonin-proctors with it, at least. 

Apparently she’s going to be coming to the Leaf when their village hosts the next round of the exams. Tsunade will expect her to be her babysitter, no doubt. He complains loudly about this to Temari, and she needles him back, despairing at the idea of such a good-for-nothing guide. 

But he gets the distinct sense they’re both enjoying a trumped-up excuse to argue. So does Asuma, if that knowing wink he sends at Shikamaru is any indication. 

(Shit. What has he gotten himself into?)


	6. Return

He’s in the middle of preliminary work for those next exams when Naruto returns, almost as abruptly as he left. It’s been almost three years. A lot has changed, for both of them. But in other ways, they’re the exact same people they always were. 

Like when Naruto bluntly asks if he and Temari are _together_. Apparently his training with Jariya did not include learning to _read the damn room, you dumbass_. They both protest, a little too quickly, a little too fervently. 

Shikamaru easily pays him back by asking if he’s here for the exams himself, mentioning the results of the last round. Most of their former classmates would have killed for extended training with one of the Sannin - hell, look how formidable Sakura’s gotten with her apprenticeship under Tsunade. These last three years, Shikamaru watched her grow steadily, from a little girl who was absolutely useless in combat to one of the strongest ninja in the village, joining him on the list of jonin candidates.

(And speaking of Sakura... he wonders what would have happened if someone had noticed her potential earlier. Would the Sasuke retrieval mission have succeeded if she had the strength then that she does now? It's not like it's _his_ fault - she was useless at the time he formed the team, that was that - but it makes him think about potential improvements to the early training of female ninja. Maybe he'll write a recommendation later). 

So yeah, Naruto learned enough to leave former self-styled rivals like Kiba in the dust. But the guy doesn’t even seem to realize what he has. He’s more concerned with being the only remaining genin in the group. 

_Idiot_ , he thinks, but with no bite to it. 

“He hasn’t changed at all,” Temari remarks, after Naruto takes in the news of Gaara’s new status, proclaims he won’t be outdone, he’ll still become Hokage, and, of course, runs off to train. 

“Nah,” Shikamaru says. “He’s different. Three years ago, his boasts were as empty as his head. Now? He’s got the power to back it up.” 

“Even that last one?” 

“Even that last one. He beat Gaara, didn’t he?” 

Temari snorts. “Being strong enough to be Kage and _actually_ being a good Kage are two very different things. You really see him keeping his cool when challenged in a council meeting? Lying politely to diplomats from other villages?”

“Why not?” Shikamaru says. He’s already sending chakra into his feet when he adds, “I never thought _you’d_ be capable of that, and here we are-” 

Sure enough, she tries to punch him, but he jumps lazily out of range. 

* * *

Naruto’s arrival corresponds with the world going to shit, which is either _terrible_ luck or - more worrying, this - no coincidence at all. That would mean that their enemies couldn’t find him before, thanks to whatever measures Jariya took to hide him; but now, they can. 

Naruto isn’t their first move, though. Gaara is. (Start with One-Tails, move up to Nine?) It’s almost a complete disaster - as strong as Gaara is, they’ve all _seen_ how strong he is, two members of that mysterious group are enough to take him captive and kill him. 

(No exaggeration. Apparently he _was_ full-on dead, before a strong ninja from his village sacrificed herself to bring him back to life. Shikamaru can’t imagine what Gaara _staying_ dead would’ve done to the alliance between their villages, or to Temari - then feels a little guilty because that’s his first thought, instead of anything about the woman who saved the Kage. Like she was just a pawn, a piece to move around the board).

It puts the next exams on hold, of course. The Sand will need time to recover, and when your brother dies, even if it didn’t last, you tend to want to spend some time at home. Shikamaru sends a letter that dances around how he feels, understates it - _it’s a little boring without you here to make my life hell_ \- and she sends a message back - _you could always get off your ass of your own volition, crybaby._

Akatsuki. _Dawn_. An ironic name for a group of murderers. The symbolism is obvious - a _new_ dawn, a different ninja world at the end of their efforts. Shikamaru guesses they, or at least their leader, are the worst kind of enemy - one who truly believes, with fanatical devotion, that their evil is a means to an end. 

He’d rather fight a hundred mercenaries than one ideologue. But this is the hand they’ve been dealt. 

Orochimaru apparently ran with the Akatsuki until he didn’t. Team Seven is dispatched to make contact with a spy and try to get some more information. ( _Not_ Shikamaru’s first choice for a subtle mission - either of the other rookie teams would have been better, in his opinion - but Orochimaru means Sasuke, and Tsunade doesn’t stand in Team Seven’s way when it comes to Sasuke). 

She’s been a very good leader otherwise - unexpectedly good, given his own poor first impression of her - but Shikamaru thinks, uncharitably, that her own experience with a defecting teammate might be clouding her judgment here. He doesn’t do anything about it. Just bitches to his father, who listens without saying anything, a knowing smile on his lips. 

Then it turns out to be a good thing that it was Team Seven after all, because the ‘spy’ was a trap, and only powerhouses like Naruto and Sakura would have fought against the Sannin himself and survived. And after they did that, Sasuke… 

Shikamaru pauses in his review of the mission report, files it without finishing it, and leaves the office early. He has to find Naruto. 

* * *

Naruto is on the training grounds, because of course he is. With Kakashi still in the hospital, recovering from that mission to Sand, Naruto’s up to his own devices. And those devices seem to include summoning a hundred shadow clones and… punching them. 

A psychologist could have a field day with this one. Or a genius. Angry at himself for letting Sasuke escape? That’s obvious. More upset about _that_ than the fact that his former friend tried to kill him? Clear as day. 

“Yo,” Shikamaru says. He’s made his approach as slow and obvious as possible. Foot-dragging, throat-clearing. Wouldn’t be smart to sneak up on Naruto when he’s in this mood.

“Oh. Hey.” From a normal person, that’d be a normal greeting. From Naruto? He might as well have ‘I’m depressed’ written on a scroll and pinned to his chest. The remaining shadow clones poof out of existence, and even the smoke clouds seem kind of droopy. Half-hearted. 

“I was just looking at the mission report. I assume Sai wrote it? Nice handwriting. And he can spell.” 

It’s a test. When the mysterious artist was assigned to the new Team Seven, Naruto took an instant dislike to him - of course he did, the only replacement he wanted was Sasuke back. But Sai must’ve distinguished himself on the mission, because Naruto doesn’t fly into a rage; he just shrugs. 

“Yeah, he’s got _some_ skills.” 

Naruto isn’t making this easy for him. Ugh, he’ll have to do the thing he dreads and just _say how he feels_. Gross. Girly - no, he should know better than that by now - also, stop chiding yourself, it’s been silent too long and Naruto is looking at you weird- 

“Don’t beat yourself up,” Shikamaru blurts.

Naruto blinks at him like he’s grown a second head. “They’re shadow clones. It’s training.”

“Not - literally. Figuratively.” He groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Sasuke isn’t worth this, man. He made his choice. You don’t need him-” 

Naruto scowls at him. “What would _you_ do if it was Choji? Or Ino?” 

Now that’s an interesting question. It only takes Shikamaru seconds to consider all the possibilities and possible implications of any situation, real or hypothetical. His genius taking _that_ form is the only reason he’s a half-decent ninja at all, honestly. But he runs into a wall on this one. The Ino-Shika-Cho formation, their clan alliance, is older than the village itself, and will outlast anything that happens to the Leaf. Symbiotic. Unbreakable. 

“It’s not worth thinking about,” he says. “They’d never. Choji cares more about his friends than his own power, and Ino might act like she resents us, but deep down she’d never betray us.” If any of them had Sasuke’s hidden darkness, it was _him_ , but Naruto didn’t need to hear him bare his soul about _that_. 

Naruto sighs. “Okay, fine, but you know what it _would_ feel like! I can’t just give up on him.” 

Shikamaru shrugs. “You’re capable of beating him down and dragging him back here, but what does that gain us? He’d be a prisoner. He’d be just as resentful in a cell. He has to _want_ to come back-” 

“I can’t even do that,” Naruto says with a scowl, because of course he only really heard the first part. “You read the report. He defeated us, _m_ _e_ , like it was _nothing_ -” 

“‘Cause you were holding back,” Shikamaru says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. Which it is. Does the guy not remember he has the Nine-Tails inside him? “Naruto, you aren’t a capture type. It’s not like you have the Nara techniques. You’re a hell of a lot stronger than anyone, even Sasuke, when you really cut loose- but asking _you_ to take someone alive is like asking a bird to fly with one wing.” 

Naruto doesn’t look convinced. “It _has_ to be me, though. He’s my teammate, and the village won’t send anyone else. I mean, _you_ just said not to bother.” 

“Listen, I won’t say the village handled his… situation… very well.” Hell, if the elders or ANBU drove Itachi to the breaking point, which is his current theory, the Leaf is indirectly responsible for the massacre. “But that’s true for Neji, too. It’s true for _you_. And you’re both still here, when you had every reason to turn traitor yourselves. It’s a cruel world we live in. These things happen-” 

Naruto interrupts him. “Then I’ll change the whole world! Make sure nobody goes through something like that ever again!”

And to think, just a few weeks ago, he’d told Temari that Naruto changed. Only promised things he could actually accomplish. Shikamaru doesn’t argue, just lifts his hands in a gesture of surrender. 

“Hey, I’m starving,” Naruto says, once the silence gets to be too much for him. “Look, I know you were just trying to make me feel better. I’m not _dumb_. Lemme buy you dinner.” 

“Let me guess. Only if it’s Ichiraku?”

“Wow, you really _are_ a genius,” Naruto says, then laughs at his own wit. Shikamaru allows himself a grin, too. It really wasn’t a good joke, but he _is_ glad to see his friend snapping out of his funk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have tentatively set the chapter list at 10, but reserve the right to adjust it. It's really dependent on how many between-canon scenes I think up and feel like writing.


	7. Asuma

An Akatsuki sighting in the Land of Fire itself means it’s finally time to act. Asuma is given command of one of the many teams that will go out and look for them. Shikamaru, Kotetsu, and Izumo fill the other three positions. The four of them have done missions before, which is doubtless why Tsunade assigned them. With no wasted time getting used to one another, they're able to spring directly into the action. 

Asuma served with the latest victim, that monk, in the Twelve Guardians. Shikamaru’s sensei is too professional to let it get to him - he won’t charge in hot-headed and looking for revenge - but there’s a weariness about him. He’s not all _that_ much older than Shikamaru, but has very few friends left among the living, between the Nine-Tails’ attack, ordinary missions with their high fatality rates, and now this… 

Back to the village to re-supply. They’ll head back out the next morning. Both of them fall into their usual routine, though Asuma is unusually philosophical over this particular game. His friend’s death hit him hard, maybe.

Naruto comes looking for Asuma before they turn in for the night. Apparently, Kakashi is out of the hospital and has some new and insane training regime for him. What a pair those two make. Combining the already difficult Rasengan with a nature release would be a Hokage-level feat, but Shikamaru doesn’t doubt Naruto will beat his head against the metaphorical wall until he manages to pull it off. 

Asuma gives Naruto a few pointers about using his newly-discovered Wind nature chakra. Shikamaru’s surprised he wasn’t tested before, but Kakashi’s always been… unconventional. Which is a nice way to say, prioritizing Sasuke’s training in what now seems like a desperate attempt by the village leadership to keep the guy from running off to seek more power as a traitor. It hadn’t worked. Obviously.

When Asuma tested Shikamaru, he’d expected to have an Earth nature. Stubborn. Solid. Unyielding. And yeah, he can perform those techniques pretty easily. But the test actually showed Fire, which would have surprised people who didn’t go beyond their surface impression of him. He’s not a destructive flame, quick to anger or anything like that. But there’s a fire deep inside him, quiet and steady, that will never go out. 

Enough navel-gazing. Time to get some rest ahead of the mission. They don’t have nearly enough intelligence on this new pair, and there’s no telling what they’re up against. 

* * *

They had no _fucking_ idea what they were up against.

Asuma pays the ultimate price for it. 

Shikamaru is too weak and stupid to stop them. 

* * *

Shikamaru skips the funeral. He can’t stand the thought of standing there and making his grief public for all to see. His feelings towards his sensei are too intense and personal, not something that he’s willing to share with the rest of the village. 

There’s also the fact that Asuma is dead because of him. Because he didn’t come up with a good enough strategy. Because he didn’t have the physical stamina to hold Hidan in the Shadow Bind for long enough. Because the so-called genius _failed_. 

Asuma’s living family - Kurenai, that loudmouth nephew who took a liking to Naruto, his ANBU brother and sister-in-law - surely noted the absence of his closest student. Part of Shikamaru hopes that someone confronts him, reinforces the contempt and blame he’s taken on himself. But nobody does. Even Naruto, who normally can’t leave well enough alone, instinctually lets him keep his own grief private. 

It’s what he wants, but it’s not what he needs.

Shikaku snaps him out of it, of course. He might be even more intelligent than his father on paper, but it feels like he’ll never be half as _wise_. Shikaku pushes him until he reaches the breaking point and snaps; then gently pushes him into picking up the pieces. 

A plan begins to form. Asuma is dead, but that Hidan lunatic made one of the biggest mistakes a ninja can make. He showed off the full extent, power, and limitations of his fighting techniques, and didn’t finish off all the witnesses. 

His silent partner’s abilities are still unknown, which is a dangerous wild card… Though, if Shikamaru plays it right, he can kill two birds with one stone… 

He plans so intently that he doesn’t realize he’s been up all night until the sun starts to shine through the windows. Then he gets up and goes to find Ino and Choji. 

* * *

He underestimates their opponents _again_.

But in Shikamaru’s defense, having _one_ immortal opponent was already impossible to predict. Going up against a pair of them isn’t even fair. 

His stomach sinks when he watches Kakashi’s Chidori go straight through Kakuzu’s heart, only for the Akatsuki member to pick himself back up like nothing’s happened. He quickly pieces together the nature of this freak’s immortality - if he’s right, they’ll need to kill him four more times for it to stick. 

Still, at least he has the blood he needs for his plan. Time to take Hidan away and put him into the ground. In a hundred little pieces. 

The guy might be unkillable, but in a way, that’s preferable. Death would mean an end. Shikamaru’s vindictive streak _likes_ the idea of Hidan existing in a broken state of eternal suffering. 

* * *

Hidan was easy, in the end. Dumb enough to walk straight into the trap. So arrogant in his immortality that he didn’t think to question why Shikamaru was leading him to that specific spot. 

Kakuzu, though... That guy had been moments away from killing Ino and Choji. Shikamaru would have led two people, closer than brother and sister to him, to their deaths. Piled their corpses on top of his sensei’s in his arrogant and childish quest for revenge. 

It’s only thanks to Naruto that this didn’t come to pass. Naruto, who mastered his Hokage-level technique at the last possible moment, came in like a goddamn hero and finished Kakuzu off with a single blow.

They stop to rest for a few minutes on the way back to the village. Shikamaru uses the pretense of going to smoke - well, okay, he’s actually smoking, but it’s also to save face as he wanders over to Naruto’s side. 

Nasty cuts on his arm. Looks like the wind release technique didn’t just tear its target to pieces, but reverberated back to its user, too. Naruto hasn’t complained about it at all. Naturally. He’d tear himself to pieces to keep another person safe.  
  
“Hey, I, uh… Well, thanks.” He curses himself for his own lack of eloquence. Takes a drag on the cigarette to cover it. 

Naruto blinks at him. “Thanks? Oh - for taking that guy down! Don’t worry about it, Shikamaru. That was the mission, and I always complete my mission!” 

This guy. Is he for real? Shikamaru blows smoke into the air and watches it drift away on the breeze. “I can still thank you, can’t I? I had a plan, and it still almost fell through. If anything had happened to Ino or Choji, I…” 

“Well, it didn’t!” Naruto interrupts him. “And hey, you took down that other freak all by yourself. Your plan worked perfectly!” 

“Eh,” Shikamaru says. “I just used his own arrogance against him.” 

“Don’t sell yourself short! I couldn’t have come up with a plan like that.” 

“Ino told me that you fooled Kakuzu with a Shadow Clone, setting him up right where you wanted him before you blew him away.” Shikamaru points the stub of the cigarette in his direction. “Don’t sell yourself short, either.” 

Naruto nods and grins, accepting the praise amicably enough. Damn, he really has matured. Three years ago he’d mostly brag about himself, masking his own insecurity with empty boasts. Now he wants to make sure that everyone else sees their own worth as clearly as he sees his own.

That’s the stuff a leader’s made of. Maybe he _will_ be the next Hokage. 

And after today? After he pulled Team Ten out of a fire of Shikamaru’s own creation? He’s more than willing to do whatever it takes to get the hat on Naruto’s head. Even - horror of horrors - work hard enough to make it happen. 


	8. Jariya

The high from their unqualified success in taking out two of the Akatsuki members is short-lived. First, a Leaf team sent to pursue Sasuke (again) failed to catch him (again), even though he’d been lying there for the taking after an exhausting battle against his own brother. 

Shikamaru can’t bring himself to be too broken up about that part. Though Itachi losing the battle and dying is certainly a strategic setback. Imagine the level of intel he could’ve provided if they’d reached him in time to take him alive… He would have answered the lingering questions about what happened the night of the massacre, for one, and pointed them towards anyone in the village leadership who couldn’t be trusted.

The next piece of news they get is a complete disaster. The great Sannin Jariya is dead, killed by the leader of Akatsuki. And the only intel he managed to get out is a coded message carved into the back of one of his frogs.

Of course Shikamaru is given the decoding mission. The perils of being considered a genius in action. He takes the frog down to the Cryptanalysis team, where he finds out the code must’ve had personal meaning to Jariya. His best bet is someone who knew the guy well - Kakashi, Tsuande, Naruto… 

He, Shikamaru, didn’t know Jariya all that well. He knows it’s a devastating loss for their village, but only because he’s aware of how strong a Sannin is. (That’s why they earned the titles, after all). He doesn’t really have any personal feelings about it. It’s awful and sad that Jariya is dead, the same way it’s awful and sad that any Leaf ninja is dead. 

Kakashi doesn’t know anything about the code. But in his own closed-off way, he puts Shikamaru onto another train of thought. _Imagine how Naruto feels_. He trained with Jariya alone for almost three years. Presumably looked up to him; a father figure that he’d never had as an orphan. 

Shikamaru knows a little something about that. Asuma was certainly like a second father to him. His sensei’s death was devastating, and in the aftermath, he ran off half-cocked and almost got his team killed. 

Shit, Naruto could be halfway out of the village by now. Who could stop him if he really wanted to go? 

He should’ve known better. The kid he once knew might have gone off; but Naruto is smart enough not to throw himself at an unknown enemy they have absolutely no intel on, save for that coded message. Instead, he finds Naruto in a state that reminds him of the aftermath of their failed Sasuke retrieval mission. Depressed, listless, altogether lacking in the drive and energy that makes Naruto… Naruto. 

It’s just as wrong now as it was back then. 

In this state, Naruto’s useless when it comes to the code. But, maybe more importantly, Shikamaru doesn’t want to leave a friend of his like _that_.

It’s about time for Kurenai to be finished with her daily check-up. So he drags Naruto to the hospital and shows him what he needs to see. Tells him what he needs to hear. Neither of them have the luxury of wallowing. Asuma - and Jariya - left them too much work to do. They might not be ready, but it’s about time for their generation to step up and start protecting the next.

Protecting the _King_. 

It’s enough to light Naruto’s inner fire back up. With his own knowledge of Jariya’s handwriting and habits, they get the code solved. Naruto runs off for another round of weird, secret, and no doubt impossible training. 

That night, Shikamaru visits Asuma’s grave. 

“I used your daughter as a move in my latest strategy,” he confesses. “Got a feeling you wouldn’t mind, though. It was a good strategy.” 

A long, slow drag on the cigarette. He’s the only one here, which was the plan. Kakashi tends to hang around, but usually in the morning when he’s dodging his other work. Shikamaru might’ve been tempted to act like that once; but now he mourns on his own time. It’s one of the little ways he’s made himself change. 

“I was acting all cool. But man, I’m kinda terrified. I’m not even sixteen. I don’t know the first thing about being a teacher.” He pauses. “Well, I guess she’ll be in the Academy for a while. Gives me time to figure it out.”

The gravestone doesn’t answer. Obviously. Not like he expected it to. 

“Besides. If I don’t know something, I can always act all wise and pretend I know the answer. Got a feeling you did that more than once,” he says. An accusation, but it’s gentle. “You don’t need to worry. I’ll look out for her, the same way you looked out for me.” 

He spends another hour there, just talking. By the time he gets home, it’s too late to join his parents for dinner. Yoshino yells at him for that, sniffs at the air, and yells at him for smoking. Shikaku just gives him a small, knowing smile. His father doesn’t intervene, leaning back and watching their argument like it’s the funniest thing in the world. 

* * *

Shikamaru’s own experience with Kakuzu plays out on a grand scale. The Akatsuki leader, Pain, attacks the village. They gained intel about some of his abilities, but it doesn’t matter - they can’t stand against someone that strong. His summons - and multiple bodies - rampage through the village.

He manages to defeat a single summons, getting Kurenai to safety, but after that… he might as well not be there at all. There’s no brilliant tactical counter-move to Pain’s assault, because Pain’s assault isn’t about strategy. It’s power, plain and simple. Nothing they have can stand up against that sheer level of power. 

Nothing, of course, until Naruto arrives back from his Sage training. 

Shikamaru missed that part - and most of the fight - since he was busy helping people evacuate, and earning a broken leg for his trouble. But he’s sure it was suitably dramatic and awe-inspiring, since, well, Naruto. 

He _does_ see what happens afterwards. The village is in ruins, but its people are all miraculously alive. Ninja he saw drop dead in front of him join the adoring crowd. What the hell _happened_ when Naruto went off to confront Pain’s real body? 

A miracle. There’s no other word for it. And maybe that explains why the entire village is giving the returning hero the welcome he deserves. It's about damn time.

* * *

The dead might have been miraculously revived, but the buildings weren’t so lucky. And people who got injured, like Shikamaru, apparently didn’t count when the real Pain, Nagato something or other, cast his god-level jutsu. 

All of which to say: Sakura took one look at him, had his leg in a cast within a few minutes, and ordered him to get out of the way and rest at home. What was left of the hospital was needed for people with _real_ injuries. No matter how much he whined, she didn’t break. Just looked at him, unamused, and shoved the crutches into his chest. 

“That friend of yours really is something,” Shikaku says, which feels like the understatement of the century. The two of them are making their way, slowly and painfully, back to the Nara lands. 

Shikamaru doesn’t even want to think about the potential damage to the forest. He just wants to lie down and sleep forever.

“Guess everyone else is finally seeing what I saw. Idiots,” he scoffs, digging his crutch into the ground a little too violently. 

“Ah, give them a break. Most people _have_ to see something to believe it. They aren’t capable of planning things out ten years in advance and visualizing him in the Hokage’s chair.” 

“Ten years, huh?” 

“Maybe twenty,” Shikaku says solemnly. “He’s strong enough, yeah. But the remedial education alone… I mean, can he even read a scroll?” 

Shikamaru smirks. “That’ll be my job, anyway.” 

“Oh yeah? Personal assistant to the Hokage sounds pretty thankless. And a hell of a lot of work.” 

“It’ll be a pain,” he agrees. “But there’s no one better qualified. I can’t ignore that.” _Not anymore_ , he thinks, but does not say aloud. _Not since Asuma_.

Shikaku, as usual, seems to pick up on what he isn’t saying. He squeezes his son’s shoulder, just once. 

They walk the rest of the way in comfortable silence.


	9. Root

Given Tsunade’s condition - stuck in a coma after expending massive amounts of chakra to shield the village from Pain - Shikamaru feels that he should have predicted Danzo’s next move. Maybe his injury is throwing him off. A vacuum at the top isn’t good for anyone, but he’s still floored to hear how quickly the Feudal Lord and village leadership agreed to name him as the temporary replacement. 

The official announcement won’t be made for a little while longer, but Shikaku was in the room when it was decided. Arguing unsuccessfully for Kakashi Hatake instead, he admits, a grim look on his face.

“The Feudal Lord is scared out of his wits,” Shikaku grumbles. Normally, Yoshino would strictly forbid talking about work (and worse, politics) over dinner, but she makes an exception this time. She’s just as curious as Shikamaru is, leaning forward and listening intently. 

“'Kakashi, student of the Fourth, is just more of the same.' Danzo offers an alternative. Is that it?” she asks. 

Shikaku nods at her. “With the village in ruins, his speech was exactly what the Lord wanted to hear. ‘Our attempts to create alliances with Sand and other villages left us open and exposed. What we need now is strength and self-reliance.’” 

Shikamaru scoffs. “Our _alliances_ are why Gaara is sending a relief mission instead of a conquering army.” The Sand ninja would be coming straight from the summit. He’d actually been looking forward to it. He could easily coordinate something like that, even though he’s still recovering from his injuries. 

Plus, working with Temari… well, it was still _work_ , but for whatever reason it had always been just a little bit less annoying than his other missions. Probably because they kept each other entertained by arguing at the drop of a hat.

“Nothing is official until the jonins convene and vote,” his father says. 

“But the outcome of _that_ will be predetermined. He’ll already be working to build enough consensus, by any means necessary,” Yoshino argues, shaking her head. 

“I was the only one to propose an alternative candidate, and I didn’t hide my displeasure with the selection,” Shikaku says. “Like it or not, that makes the Nara clan the face of the opposing faction.” 

She folds her arms across her chest. “I’ll take a team and go over the evacuation route tomorrow.” 

Shikamaru blinks, nonplussed at how casually his parents are discussing the worst case scenario. Had he underestimated the threat level of the new Hokage? “Hang on. Moving against the Nara means losing three clans that are the backbone of this village. Surely Danzo wouldn’t…” 

“Danzo is the type to put the good of the village - by his definition - above any number of clans. Naruto and his team, his sensei, are untouchable because of what Naruto is. The rest of us? Expendable,” his father explains sourly. “And a clan that won’t bow to his will is an active threat. It wouldn’t be the first time.” 

_The Uchiha_ , Shikamaru realizes, as the final piece clicks into place. He remembers the way Shikaku acted at the time. Surprised and angry by what had happened - now, Shikamaru thinks, upset not just that the massacre had taken place, but because it had been ordered by the Hokage. Yet even the Jonin Commander had been out of the loop on that decision. How many protocols had Danzo ignored when he pointed Itachi at his own clan? Why had the Third not had him arrested then and there? 

“The Raikage demanding a full summit helps,” his mother says. “There’s no time for the vote. And Danzo won’t want to show the other nations anything but a strong and united front - which means no internal squabbling.”

“At least until he gets back,” Shikaku sighs.

“I’ll talk to my friends,” Shikamaru decides. His particular class always had unusually high numbers of heirs to prominent families; or, like Kiba and Hinata, the siblings of those heirs. If their parents could be convinced to promise retaliation against any move against another clan, it would help immensely. Danzo might risk losing Ino-Shika-Cho to punish the Nara clan, but he wouldn’t be as eager for a full-blown civil war.

Hopefully.

* * *

He needn’t have worried. His friends might not have the most nuanced understanding of politics - hell, Kiba didn’t even know who Danzo _was_ \- but they were loyal to each other, and to Shikamaru. 

He’d have liked to spend more time on the _details_ , but the others were buzzing with concern about Sasuke. Their former classmate and current missing-nin wasn’t running with Orochimaru anymore, because the Snake Sannin was dead. But instead of striking out on his own, the Uchiha was running missions for Akatsuki. 

The first of which had been capturing the Eight-Tailed Beast. Kumo was furious, not just because they’d lost a weapon but because it had been inside the Raikage’s brother. (It was nice to hear that one of the containers was finally being treated like a person - though somewhat inconvenient for Shikamaru and the Leaf in that exact moment). 

The long and short of it is that the Leaf had not cleaned up its own business. Tsunade refusing to put out a kill order on Sasuke was highly unusual, and no doubt due to her affection for Naruto. Danzo finally issued one when he took charge, but it’s doubtless too late to mollify the Raikage. 

And when you come right down to it, the person who led the first and only formal mission to neutralize Sasuke - Shikamaru - failed. None of this would have happened otherwise. (Neji points this out with his usual _tact_ , but Shikamaru doesn’t argue. Neji isn’t wrong). 

He goes to find Team Seven and asks for their permission for the Leaf to deal with Sasuke themselves. 

It doesn’t go well. His logic is sound - inaction means Kumo will kill the Uchiha, and then Naruto and Sakura (and Ino, if he’s being honest) will hunt down his killer. All the makings of a blood feud which will very easily spiral into a war. 

But he should’ve known his friends better. Naruto has already snuck away and is going to the Summit. God only knows what promises he’ll make the Raikage in exchange for Sasuke’s worthless hide. Being the Nine-Tails’ host gives Naruto’s words a political weight that would make any concessions the Raikage demands… less than ideal. 

And thanks to his own lecture, Sakura and Sai don’t wait to do things properly. They leave in pursuit of Naruto before Shikamaru can stop them. 

* * *

In the end, Sasuke does them a favor, personally killing Danzo during the Kage Summit. 

Shikamaru thinks about sending the guy a gift. Maybe a nice fruit basket. It’s hard to argue with the surviving Uchiha’s right to avenge his clan, now that he knows the full story. More importantly, Sasuke’s actions have stabilized the Hidden Leaf he abandoned. Danzo is dead, Root will crumble, and Tsunade - or Kakashi, if she doesn’t wake up - won’t have to worry about one of their top advisors trying to undermine them at every turn. 

How’s that for irony? 

* * *

Naruto gets back in one piece, mostly, but is predictably resistant to their plan to take out Sasuke themselves. 

In fairness, he’s probably right that he, himself, is the only one who could face the Uchiha in a straight fight and come out alive. Shikamaru certainly doesn’t think he’d stand a chance. Even if he carefully prepared the battlefield a week in advance, the Sharingan is just too unpredictable, too strong. 

They don’t really get time to catch up afterwards. Shikaku comes and summons him to a council of war with the other Kage and their advisors. The Summit was a success, but that means that the whole ninja world must prepare to destroy Akatsuki - and their apparent leader, Madara Uchiha. 

It’s going to be a hell of a fight. The first great war in over a decade. 

And Shikamaru finds himself agreeing with Gaara on the first major decision. Naruto is too loyal to his friends for his own good. There’s a lot of wisdom in taking him and the Eight-Tails’ host and making sure that Madara can’t get his hands on them. 

Framing it that way will never work, though. So they pretend to give him a mission that just happens to take him to a remote island that the Raikage controls. Shikamaru doesn’t like lying to people, especially his friends, but in this case… he needs to think like a strategist. The hosts are important assets, too important to risk on the front line. 

_Ugh_. Even in his own head that comes out so pompous and arrogant. He makes a mental note to ask Naruto’s forgiveness later. Maybe buy him some ramen.

Assuming they all survive what’s coming for them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have never once been able to sit through the war arc that's coming up so the next chapter will skip around considerably. But it's fine, we all know what happens lol


	10. Death

When the war does come, it’s all Shikamaru can do to keep up with his role. He’s smart enough, skilled enough, to be given de-facto command of an entire Division of the allied ninja. That means there’s thousands of pieces on his board, when he usually works with a single squad or a handful of squads. 

It’s not so much coming up with strategies - that’s the easy part, the part that can be done on paper ahead of actual fighting. It’s the logistics. Trying to keep track of the location of so many fighters. Understanding the full potential uses of proprietary techniques that were, until very recently, jealously guarded by their villages. 

And, of course, having to keep half of his mind on grand strategic calculations and the other half on the battles he is thrown into. The enemy is raising so many dead ninja that he (and _especially_ Gaara) can’t afford to command from behind. They need to go out and neutralize some of the most powerful threats personally.

The Impure World Reincarnation technique, like many of the abilities Akatsuki had displayed in their previous fights, is just unfair. It gives the enemy endless fodder, while forcing ninja to confront dead members of their family, lovers, close friends… It’s a foul ability, but Shikamaru has to admit, from that cold strategist perspective, that it’s an effective one. It combines physical and psychological warfare.

For his part, he’s sufficiently steeled to face down the resurrected Asuma. The man himself is dead, and he wouldn’t want them to hesitate in defending themselves from this puppet that is his corpse. It takes Choji a while to get there, but they’re eventually able to defeat their old sensei and seal him away.

Asuma goes with a smile on his face. Proud of what his old students have become in such a short time. Shikamaru hopes it helps him rest easier in whatever afterlife awaits them. 

(He’s always had his doubts - but there _must_ be one, objectively, if Kabuto could yank their souls back out of it, right? It’s an oddly comforting thought, given that he’s one wrong move away from joining Asuma). 

* * *

If the difference between him and Naruto was not clear enough, this war shows it to them all. Now that Naruto can control the Nine-Tails’ chakra - his fake island mission was not a total waste - he moves through the battlefield like a god of destruction. Normal ninja like Shikamaru can only watch and marvel at his power. 

He’s not resentful like some of his peers might be. He’s known for some time that this is how it would be. Naruto is like the sun, bright and shining and warm. Forcing its light onto the world and making it a better place by whatever means necessary. Shikamaru is, obviously, a shadow. Always there, but quiet and content in its supporting role. Prepared to handle anything the sun could not or would not see. 

As he stands in his circle and watches Naruto cleave through legions of the White Zetsu, he thinks: _Now, all of them can see what I’ve always seen._ Not just the Leaf - they’d already witnessed Naruto defeat a god-level threat - but the entire ninja world. 

* * *

As the battle continues, it begins to look more and more bleak. What use is having a plan against the sheer power of Madara Uchiha? Even when it turns out that “Madara” is not _actually_ Madara, that only makes the situation worse - the real one is revived, and it becomes clear that the two of them cooked this whole thing up long ago.

The patience to wait for years, using Akatsuki and the nations’ in-fighting as pawns on their grand chessboard. The insanity to collect all of the Tailed Beasts and attempt to fuse them together into something even more powerful and deadly. It’s all hard to fathom. But the resulting Ten-Tails is real and deadly enough. 

When the two Uchiha start directing their creature to send blasts of energy into the distance, Shikamaru’s heart sinks. He _knows_ , before his brain catches up, what their plan is. Destroy the Alliance headquarters that has been coordinating their actions on the battlefield. Cut off the head of the snake.

The head being operated by his father. Ino’s father. And many others, but they’re just abstract concepts, not his father and pseudo-uncle. 

He hears Shikaku’s voice one last time. His father doesn’t have the luxury of a long heartfelt goodbye. They only have moments before the headquarters is obliterated, and Shikaku does what he’s always done. His duty. Using those last precious moments to relay a strategy to deal with the monstrous threat before them. 

The voice disappears abruptly, like a radio that was suddenly switched off in the middle of a sentence. They can all see why. The Ten-Tails’ power smashing into the HQ and vaporizing it. 

Choji tries to comfort them, but Shikamaru can’t bear to hear it at that moment. The only way he isn’t shutting down is by forcing himself _not_ to confront the situation with anything but cold logic. Retreating into it like a shield against his own pain. They’ll all be killed if they sit here and grieve now, so he refuses to grieve. 

They lose Neji a few minutes later. In some ways, that’s even worse. At least he had a few moments to brace himself when the energy blast traveled towards the HQ. Neji is there one second and gone the next. Cut down protecting his cousin and Naruto. 

Buying them time to enact the plan.

They have to destroy this creature. It’s the only way to make his sacrifice worth anything.

* * *

The plan doesn’t work. Even the entire Nara clan working together can’t restrain something like that for long. 

But, incredibly, they survive. Because _Sasuke Uchiha_ of all people turns up, having used the resurrection technique on the four dead Hokage. 

_Maybe Naruto had a point_ , Shikamaru admits to himself. _Maybe this guy isn't all gone._

He doesn’t say it out loud, obviously. They can work with a traitor - Madara and Obito are threats to the entire world, after all - but he hasn’t earned their forgiveness yet.

Then Obito takes the Ten-Tails into himself. And Shikamaru is more or less relegated to watching from the sidelines. A clash like this is simply above ordinary ninja like him.

Their hopes are all pinned on Naruto now. Perhaps that’s how it was always meant to be.

* * *

Later, whenever he tries to think back to what happened next, it’s mostly a blur. Perhaps his mind’s own trauma response to almost dying when his chakra was ripped out of him. Or some lingering after-effect of the mass genjutsu they were all placed under.

The important thing is that Naruto wins. He beats Madara, and a literal goddess, and saves the world. 

Oh, and that Shikamaru was right. Sasuke _is_ still a shit. Naruto had to beat him down, too, to stop him from seizing power while they were all trapped. 

_That_ part cost him an arm. But unbelievably - no, believably, to anyone who’s ever met Naruto - he doesn’t change at all. As soon as he can walk, he’s limping into the new Hokage’s office, pleading for Sasuke to get a pardon. 

One of Shikamaru’s first tasks as the new assistant to the new Hokage is to file Kakashi’s official pardon and send it out to the other villages so they won’t attack Sasuke on sight. It’s a damn sight better than the guy deserves, in Shikamaru’s opinion.

He grits his teeth and files the paperwork, though. Given that Naruto saved the whole damn world… it’s really the least he can do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've still never actually read or watched the war arc... just bits and pieces. It drags on for so long and I just lost all interest, lol. Writing the chapter was kinda a struggle too. 
> 
> But the next two should be fun, now that canon is (mostly) over and we can get some original scenes with Naruto and Temari. 
> 
> I've added to the estimated count a couple times but I think 12 is final. That will get us through everything I wanted to cover.


	11. Aftermath

Working for Kakashi is a uniquely frustrating experience.

To the outside world, the Copy Ninja is the perfect Hokage. He might have lost his Sharingan during the war, but it didn’t cause him to forget any of the thousand techniques he’d memorized. His reputation travels ahead of him, wraps around him and his village like a type of armor. Missing-nin activity in the Land of Fire decreases by 15 percent in the first year. Shikamaru would know; he wrote the reports.

Not that Kakashi reads the reports. 

And therein lies the problem. Shikamaru is already doing two full-time jobs: personal assistant to the Hokage and chief coordinator of the Shinobi Union. Kakashi’s near-pathological resistance to paperwork just adds to his burden.

The outside world would be stunned to learn how many of the Sixth Hokage’s official decisions happened like this: Kakashi pretends to read a scroll, sets it down, smiles, says he is sure Shikamaru will make the right call, and… jumps out the window. He’ll later be seen delighting Academy children with a visit, or he’ll shed the hat and robe entirely and disappear for the rest of the day. 

Not to say that Kakashi is a _bad_ Hokage. The opposite: whenever Shikamaru grew frustrated enough to test him on some point or procedure, Kakashi would rattle off the information, add a unique insight based on his vast personal experience, and give him the type of innocent, wounded look that made the Nara feel bad for doubting him. 

Neither of them are stupid. Kakasi knows that Shikamaru asked for this job to eventually support Naruto in the same role. The extra work is both a test - and a personal favor. Kakashi is putting him through the wringer, making sure that he was fully capable of handling anything that came up during Naruto’s tenure. Given the worldwide peace that both of them are working so hard to maintain, the Leaf can afford it at the moment. 

It’s just… his brand of mentorship is so _annoying_. He never explains why he acts the way he does. Just pretends not to care, smirks as Shikamaru struggles, and vanishes whenever the Nara tried to pin him down for anything serious. 

It was a wonder that anyone put up with this guy as their sensei. _Honestly._

Naruto has his own struggles at the moment. After Tsunade worked her miracle and attached that artificial arm to him, Naruto was eager to return back to active duty. Kakashi dangled something else in front of him: a promotion to jonin, but only on condition that Naruto catch up on the literal years of advanced study he’d missed.

Chunin continued to learn codes and procedures, receive leadership training, and take advanced courses in-between their regular mission load. Naruto had spent his post-genin days training alone in the woods with Jariya. Once he’d gotten back, it was an endless stream of critical missions and training in ludicrously advanced techniques…

… Suffice to say, the guy could easily handle the combat requirements of a jonin - even if he’d still had only one arm - but is _woefully_ behind on the rest of it. A crash course makes sense, but Naruto’s never been the bookish type, exactly, and being off missions to _study_ is a miserable experience for him.

The two of them get dinner together pretty often, these days. Venting their mutual frustration at Kakashi in rewarding bitch sessions. 

Now that Ichiraku isn’t the only place in the village that deigns to serve Naruto, he even agrees to get something other than ramen. Occasionally. When Shikamaru insists on it. 

There’s a lot of tourists out that particular night, which is bad news, because Naruto is _famous_ now. Presumably worldwide adoration is better than worldwide hatred, but he still looks uncomfortable with all of the attention. He’s visibly grateful when Shikamaru cuts in, tells the crowd that they’re late for a top-secret mission, and manages to shoo them away. 

To escape further attention, they wander over to the great stadium that once held the chunin finals. The structure, like most of the village, was devastated during Pain’s attack. Housing and basic needs were prioritized in the re-build, and the new stadium is still half-finished. Shikamaru guesses it’ll be another year before the Leaf can properly host the exams. (He’ll be dragged into organizing them, no doubt, the way he’s dragged into everything else). 

Naruto kicks his legs out over the edge, grinning over at Shikamaru. “Hey… remember when you were so reluctant for your match with Temari that I had to literally push you down there?” 

“You didn’t _have_ to. I would’ve gotten down there. Eventually.” 

Naruto laughs, a little sheepish. “Back then, I didn’t get you at _all_. You never showed off and you never wanted to fight, so I thought you were just weak. Until you won that match against her. Made me realize I had you all wrong.” 

“Same here,” Shikamaru admits. “The way you beat Kiba was, well-” 

“Dumb luck,” Naruto says, suppressing a snort at the memory. 

“Yeah, exactly. But it was different against Neji. He was a prodigy, you barely graduated from the Academy. It shouldn’t have been close. But then you _won_. You know people bet on those matches? You cost a lot of people a lot of money. I could hear them complaining, even from the competitors’ box.” 

“Yeah. Neji sure was special,” Naruto says, looking down into the center of the stadium. Looking, not really _seeing_ it. 

It’s been a little over a year. The pain of losing their friend isn’t quite as sharp, but it’ll never dull out completely. Never go away. Shikamaru is sure Naruto feels it even more, since Neji saved his life in the process. 

Knowing Naruto, it just redoubled his drive to make sure that he could protect everyone in the village. Ensure that Neji was the last person who had to die on his watch.

“You cost my dad money too,” Shikamaru says. Naruto gives him a fleeting, shocked look - they’ve talked about Neji before, about Inoichi and the others, but _never_ Shikaku, not until this moment. 

“The jonin had one big pool, you see. He put a week’s salary on Neji going all the way. Choza came to collect, and dad bitched about it. Said that using the Nine-Tails’ chakra was cheating. But really, he just never figured you’d be able to control it. He was always a sore loser. I didn’t see that side of him often, since he routinely kicked my ass in shogi, but I saw it then. He was stomping around the house all night. My mom laughed at him for an hour, and that just made him even more pissy.” 

It’s a lot of talking at once. Especially for Shikamaru. He’s a little surprised that he’s smiling at the end of the story. That he can talk about Shikaku and that it doesn’t hurt quite as much. 

Naruto lifts one finger. “Wait - go back - his own son was in the tournament, and he didn’t bet on _you_?” 

“Nah,” Shikamaru drawls. “He knew me too well for that. I’m pretty sure he was the only one there who wasn’t surprised when I trapped Temari, had the match won, and then gave up.” 

“Who’d Kakashi bet on?” his friend demands, eyes blazing.

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answer to,” Shikamaru advises him, smirking. 

“If it was Sasuke, I swear, I’m gonna march into his office and shove his hat up his-”

“It was Gaara.” 

Naruto’s eyes bug out. “But… he trained Sasuke to go up against Gaara! For an entire month! Taught him the Chidori!” 

Shikamaru grins. “What can I say? He’s one of those guys who always looks for the bright side. ‘If my student loses, at least I made some money off it.’” 

Naruto seems to find that absolutely hilarious. He starts laughing so loud that it echoes oddly through the empty stadium, makes it sound like there’s a whole crowd there once more. Like so much of what he does, it’s infectious. Shikamaru can’t help but join in. 

It’s nights like that that make the endless procession of soul-crushing paperwork worth it. That show him the light at the end of the tunnel. Working so hard to support a guy like Naruto… it won’t be so bad, really.

* * *

That nasty business in Silence the following year has one enjoyable side-benefit. He and Temari are finally a _thing_. For years they’d danced around it. Came up with reasons to work on Union business late into the night, or made excuses to drag out said work to a “professional” dinner...

Shikmaru’s pretty sure they stopped fooling anyone a long time ago. Except the pair of them were the last ones to catch on to the joke. 

They might _still_ be dancing around it if not for his last mission. Faced with an anti-ninja revolutionary challenging his entire worldview, he’d realized that he didn’t believe in the system, really. He believed in people. Two people in particular. Both of whom were strong enough and determined enough to force their will onto that system, forcing it to bend and break and change for the better.

Both of whom were loud and troublesome blondes - Huh, he really did have a type. There must be some truth to the old adage that opposites attract.

At first, dating and being work colleagues feels… oddly similar. He’s pretty sure it’s not supposed to be like that. Not that he has any experience. He’d never bothered with it before. Temari _has_ , and doesn’t pretend otherwise. 

It’s not that he’s jealous of what happened before they met. It just contrasts with what his clan might expect from a future wife. Sweet, quiet, and innocent, to the point that they could at least pretend nothing ever happened outside of the sanctity of the marriage. 

Yeah... Yoshino is nothing like most of the Nara wives. As he keeps getting drawn farther into clan politics - he can’t just shove it off on his mother and Ensui forever - Shikamaru realizes how much Shikaku broke expectations by marrying such a firebrand. He’s also pretty sure she was an active-duty ninja, before. Which means the marriage was a love match, instead of the typical arranged affair with a noble wife from the Feudal Lord’s court. 

What would the elders say about two unconventional matches in a row? 

And Temari would never give up her job. She’s too damn good at it. At the Union meetings, they’re often the two leading voices - Shikamaru, because of his role during the war and because he represents the most important village; and Temari, keeping pace with him by sheer force of personality, even if the Sand is arguably the weakest of the five members.

Even with his inexperience, he can tell she wants more. But he’s not ready to go there. Not when this whole thing is doomed to fail in the long run. It’s old-fashioned, but he doesn’t want his first time to be something casual. 

“Are you even listening?” Temari says. When he doesn’t respond, she huffs and shoves his menu into his face. 

“I think we should break up,” Shikamaru says, before his brain can catch up with his mouth. 

She just rolls her eyes at him. “No. Now figure out what you’re ordering. The waiter’s already been by twice and we’re getting dirty looks.” 

“Hang on, you can’t just say _no_. We have to talk-” 

Temari interrupts him, jabbing a finger into the air. “I can when you’re being _stupid_. Let me guess. You’ve been spending weeks agonizing about our long-term future considering you’re a clan head and I’m the Kazekage’s sister. You examined all the angles and concluded that there wasn’t any room for compromise. So you’d be better off ending things before either of us could get hurt.”

For once in his life, he’s absolutely speechless. He stares at her, mouth half-open. 

“Well?” she demands.

“Something… something like that, yeah.”

“Of course, no part of your two hundred step plan involved talking to me. _Men_ ,” Temari sighs. She waves the waiter back over and orders for both of them. Once he’s gone, she rolls her eyes at Shikamaru.

“Didn’t you pay attention to what the Sand proposed at the last Union meeting? Permanent diplomatic offices in each others’ villages?”

“Of course I did. It was your idea.” 

And a damn good one, like most of Temari’s proposals. The villages had always worked together only when absolutely necessary. In the old days, standing ambassadors would be seen as spies, trying to ferret out the secret techniques that the villages guarded so jealousy. If the Union was going to endure, the younger generation needed to overcome that reluctance. Formal envoys would be a very good start. 

“And who do you think the Sand is going to send to its most important and valuable ally?” Temari says, speaking slowly, like he’s a child who doesn’t understand a particular problem. 

“You always complain that they only have one diplomat in the corps who’s worth a damn, and it’s you - _Oh_ ,” Shikamaru says, because he finally sees it. 

“Yeah,” she says. “I’m a genius. I’m also not gonna wait around forever. Gaara fends off marriage proposals at least once a week. So get your shit together.”

“As if you’d be happy with some Feudal Lord’s second son.” 

“At least they’d put out.” 

Shikamaru chokes on his water. When he eventually recovers, he’s red in the face for more than one reason. “Okay, so you’ll be living in the Leaf most of the year, but my clan is still… uh, _traditional_.” 

“I know how to get through boring ceremonies. It’s my _job_ , remember?” 

“It’s not that. The idea of the clan leader’s wife _working_ , it’s, uh… they wouldn’t take it well.” 

Temari gives him an unamused look. “So your elders would bitch at you. So what? You think the Sand’s council is gonna be happy about the idea of marrying some non-royal foreigner? The Nara might be a respected clan, but let’s face it. Kind of a downgrade for me.” 

Huh. When she put it that way… 

“I suppose you’re worth enduring some old men’s complaints,” he says, grinning.

“Damn right I am,” she scoffs. “You’re lucky to have me, and don’t you ever forget it.” 

They have a nice dinner. Then she takes him home and _that_ part is even nicer. Certainly worth defying the Nara elders and the Sand council and anyone else who gets in their way. 

All this trouble to marry some woman who’s eerily similar to his mother. To think, he’d once asked his dad why he even put up with Yoshino. 

Wherever Shikaku is now, whatever form the afterlife takes… Shikamaru figures that he’s watching, and he’s laughing his ass off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said this was canon compliant, but my own shortcomings come into play here. I watched very little of Boruto, and I don't think this is strictly accurate for how Temari winds up in the Leaf long term. That said, we won't be getting into that period very much overall. 
> 
> Anyway this might be my favorite chapter so far. 
> 
> One more to go! Thanks for all of the kudos, I am blown away by the reception to this one considering it's such a short series.


	12. Hokage

Kakashi hung onto the seat longer than Shikamaru would have guessed. The guy clearly hated almost every second of the job, but give him this: he made damn sure that Naruto (and Shikamaru) were ready to fill those enormous boots before he stepped out of them.

Now, years later, it was almost time. The formal announcement ceremony would come tomorrow. It would be a triumphant moment, the culmination of years of hard work on both of their parts; the final validation of Naruto’s life-long dream; and, not for nothing, the highest role ever held by a Nara in the village’s history.

It was also going to _suck_ , because all three of them would be up there on stage fighting through debilitating hangovers. 

Celebratory drinking had seemed like a great idea a few hours ago, when Kakashi went out and returned to the office with several bottles. It was good stuff, too. And when the outgoing Hokage burned several months of his salary on a high-class gift like that, it would’ve been rude to _not_ drink it, really.

Shikamaru was regretting that decision now, but it was far, far too late to save himself.

He also started losing track of time. One moment, Kakashi was there. The next, he muttered something about drastic measures and pulled his customary vanishing act, leaving his two juniors alone in the empty office. 

Shikamaru just hoped he showed up tomorrow. From what he knew of Kakashi, there was a good chance he’d be a couple hours late, even if he _had_ been sober.

“Hey,” Naruto said, and _gods_ he was way too loud. “You're still with me, right, buddy?” 

Shikamaru groaned and blinked at the two Narutos. Unbelievable. He was still able to pull off a shadow clone in his current state? Did his overly-large chakra reserves (Nine-Tails or no Nine-Tails) help him resist intoxication? He’d have to ask someone to study that later. 

“Okay,” the Narutos said. “I think it’s time to get you home, before Temari murders the both of us.”

“No, wait,” Shikamaru slurred. He knew there was something he wanted to say. Something that sober Shikamaru wouldn’t dream of being emotionally vulnerable enough to get across, but drunk Shikamaru wanted to communicate before it was too late.

He tried to focus on what he assumed was the real Naruto, though they were both so blurry that it was pretty damn hard to tell. 

“Hey. I love you.” 

Naruto paused, forced an awkward laugh that would haunt Shikamaru’s memories when he sobered up the next day. “Uh… I appreciate that? But I’m happy with Hinata? We fought that maniac on the moon, remember?” 

“No, not like _that_ ,” Shikamaru said hastily. “Though I mean, if I _was_ into guys - no, I’m getting off track. This is important.” 

The two Narutos blinked at him as he struggled to muster his thoughts.

“Friends. Friend-love. Like that,” he managed lamely. 

“Oh, well, of course! I already knew _that_.” 

“No,” Shikamaru said urgently. “There’s more. I respect the hell out of you, man. I don’t say that enough. You’re gonna be a great Hokage-”

“-Right, I-” 

“-but not ‘cause you’re the strongest ninja in the world (even though you are).” He forged on through the fuzz in his mouth. “‘Cause of how you treat people and how you inspire them. ‘Cause you’re the only one in the village who’s stubborn enough and crazy enough to turn even our worst enemies into reliable allies. Hell, if it was up to me, Sasuke wouldn’t have made it out of his cell. And giving Oorochimaru another chance? Forget about it.”

Naruto nodded, even as he dragged Shikamaru to his feet and prodded him into walking. “One foot in front of the other… that’s right, you got this…” 

“Hey, are you even listening?” Shikamaru complained. “I don’t say that stuff to just anyone, y’know.” 

“Yeah, I got it, it’s just…” And if Shikamaru didn’t know better, he’d swear the soon to be Hokage wiped an orange sleeve over his eyes. “It’s all so _weird_. People coming up and saying that stuff to me. Some of the same people who used to spit in my face. It’s gonna be official tomorrow, and part of me still doesn’t believe it.”

“This village doesn’t deserve you. Not after what we did. Even people like me - I knew something was up with you, but I never _did_ anything about it,” he confessed. The inaction that followed his childhood investigations had been weighing on him more and more lately. He sighed and forced the words out of his mouth. “When we were kids, I staked out your apartment… saw how you lived… didn’t do or say a thing.” 

Naruto shrugged. “Nothing a kid _could_ have done, anyway. Not up against that much hate. But it’s fine. We’re gonna make sure nothing like that _ever_ happens to anyone else, okay? Not in the village. Not in the entire world, either!”

“Yeah,” Shikamaru managed. “We’ll do it. I’ll help you, every step of the way.” 

“Good! Because I’m counting on ya.” The broad, winning smile was back on his face. Good. Naruto didn’t look right without it. 

Shikamaru thought about saying that. He thought about saying a lot of things, but the words weren’t coming anymore. Instead he just turned around and hugged him. Though the effect was somewhat ruined by him almost losing his balance in the process, and Naruto didn’t hug back so much as catch him before he fell. 

It was the last thing he remembered before waking up in his own bed the next morning with a splitting headache, under vicious assault by his own alarm clock - each ring causing another pulse of dull agony. 

There’d been more he wanted to say. But it was too late now. He had no choice but to somehow find enough emotional maturity to let his friend know how he felt once in a while, without the crutch of drinking himself silly.

Now that he was sober, all of that _feelings_ stuff sounded like a real drag, but hey - it was the kind of support that Naruto deserved. So Shikamaru would make it happen. 

That was, after all, his job now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end. Thanks for all the kudos, everyone! 
> 
> This last scene is what I had in mind for the ending from the very beginning. I just feel like our boy would be a really messy emotional drunk lol.
> 
> I am not done in this universe just yet, as some of the musing in earlier chapters gave me the idea for an AU. You can check out my profile if that's of interest. I should be getting to working on it in earnest now that I've wrapped this one up.


End file.
